know anything about home security systems/alarms?

[macybean]

They're installing one at my house right now. The house had a pre-existing alarm from First Alert, but this is Brinks. The installation is free because of the company I used for my inspection.

Anyway, it's 28.99/m plus a $5 fee so that if they have to come out here to fix things, it's free (a warranty). So it's about $37 after taxes. On top of that, I had to get a home phone. I had it wrapped in w/ my internet and cable. That's about $40/month.

I don't know what my insurance break is, but it's less than $77/month, I can tell you that. So is this worth it? They can't use the motion sensors because of the pets, so they just have the doors set up and a thing in the middle of my living room that will go off if the living room windows are broken. But if someone comes in a different window, they're fine, b/c there isn't a motion detector to stop them.

I'm having second thoughts, I guess. It's a 3-year contract. That's a long time and a lot of money. I live in an area that's pretty low-income but changing rapidly. House values are still going up (Austin is one of the best markets in the US, and everyone is buying in this section of the city b/c it's so undervalued for the location-very close to downtown (2-3 miles from the dead center of town, 2 miles from UT, etc).

I didn't intend on my dogs being security, but they are in a lot of ways. It seems to me that poor people (in this area anyway) are more afraid of dogs than those with more money; they don't know much about breeds, other than pit bulls, rotties, and such. The Brinks guys freaked out about Riley and Sadie, even though I put them behind a baby gate in the kitchen. One guy had me stand in front of the gate when he walked by, b/c he was scared of Riley (Sadie is more likely to get annoyed, but Riley's bigger...).

Should I be paying for this?? It seems like a lot of money, and the website I found with customer reviews didn't paint the best picture of the whole thing. Any thoughts? If I want to cancel, I have to do so in the next couple of days, or I'll be locked into the three-year contract.

[macybean]

I'm just getting nervous. They've drilled holes in my walls, ceiling, even the walls to the outside of the house!

[macybean]

I have to get an alarm permit from the city, too. That's only $25. If I don't get it and I have a false alarm, I'll get charged $200. If I get over 5 burglary false alarms or 2 robbery false alarms with the permit, I get charged $50 for any extra burglary alarms and $100 for any extra robbery alarms--these are fines from the city.

I understand the city needing to charge people if they dispatch police, fire, or medical services, but they've recently had these stories on the news from people whose alarms were going off nightly due to glitches. What a pain they must be going through!

[GR8DAME]

We live in the near west suburbs of Chicago, less than 20 minutes from the loop. It isn't a BAD town/nieghborhood, but we have had a few murders and a couple burgleries a month. In the 16 years that we have lived in our house we have had one break-in. Both of my dogs at the time were young, and crated. The older of the two at 18 months broke out of his cage. They threw chairs at him and knocked down a bookshelf in front of him and he still escorted him out the front door empty handed.
ADT calls me regularly to subscibe, and I laugh at the lady. If you are stupid enough to walk in my house uninvited, better call an ambulance, not a security company.
Stella

[Luvmydanes]

I feel the same way. We live in a small town, so not too much goes on around here, but people see our dogs outside playing (Jasmine mostly cause of her size) and will walk AROUND our yard even though it is fenced. lol I like people knowing we have a big dog, plus it makes me feel safe. Both the dogs sleep in our room, Goliath is kenneled, but Jasmine sleeps right next to the bed, and I'm pretty sure if anyone broke in they'd get a big surprise.

[newflvr]

I agree with everybody else.  Our insurance requires us to have a security system and I've never turned it on!  Cowboy would be no help if a bad guy broke in but Chester is quite another thing indeed.  He's taken to jumping up on anybody who comes at me too fast and puts his paws on their shoulders to stop them.  No barking....jus t his 115 pound self looking them straight in the eye.  As soon as I tell him it's okay, he's the new best friend.

[macybean]

Yeah, I'm leaning towards cancelling. I tried to find stats online for alarms, but I wasn't getting anywhere. I also tried to see if there are any stats on homes with dogs. But every "prevention" site I read mentioned having a dog... They also mentioned alarms.

It's just so expensive ($37 w/ the $5 warranty thing b/c they cost so much per hour for repair work, plus a phone line that I would never have otherwise-I usually just use a cell phone-at the cheapest, it's $55 total, but with the phone I've got right now-wrapped into the internet stuff-it's $77/month just to have this service).

I know I just got it-today-but I have to cancel tomorrow so that I can mail the thing in on time if it's not worth it. I called my insurance company to ask about the discount. They said it's just $62/year. So it's a lot cheaper not to have it. The alarm doesn't cover bedrooms, which is what I should be concerned about--self-protection, but I have male roommates who don't want to use the alarm at night b/c we're always coming and going AND I don't worry about myself at night, b/c the dogs sleep in my room, uncrated and alert.

[macybean]

Thank you for your responses.

I kept trying to find statistics last night. All I found were numbers on how many people are robbed per minute, year, 20 years... All the stuff that makes me think, "Maybe I should keep the thing."

But from a financial perspective, with the cost of the phone and the system, it just seems silly. *If* something did happen, that's why I have insurance, right? Plus, by the time the alarm goes off, they are already in the house... They'll grab something and go. But the dogs, if they are home and not out with me, wouldn't let someone get to that point.